iOS Removing Object From Array - ios

Question

I am loading an array of items from a plist. A user can select any item and add it to a new array of items which is shown on screen.
I am doing this but a user can also delete a player from any row. My problem is when a user deletes the object it shuffles the list up. Where as I want to keep that row blank.
My deletion code:
- (void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView commitEditingStyle:(UITableViewCellEditingStyle)editingStyle forRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
NSUserDefaults *prefs = [NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults];
NSString *user_id = [prefs objectForKey:#"user_id"];
NSString *fixture_id = [prefs objectForKey:#"fixture_id"];
// Get path to documents directory
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory,
NSUserDomainMask, YES);
[self.usersSelectionArray removeObjectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
if (self.usersSelectionArray == nil) {
// disable swipe to delete?
}
[tableView deselectRowAtIndexPath:indexPath animated:YES];
if ([paths count] > 0)
{
// Path to save array data
NSString *arrayPath = [[paths objectAtIndex:0]
stringByAppendingPathComponent:[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%#-%#",user_id, fixture_id]];
// Write array
[self.usersSelectionArray writeToFile:arrayPath atomically:YES];
}
// If blank array delete the file as not required
if (self.usersSelectionArray.count == 0) {
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *path = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%#-%#", user_id, fixture_id]];
NSError *error;
if(![[NSFileManager defaultManager] removeItemAtPath:path error:&error])
{
//TODO: Handle/Log error
}
}
[self.tableView reloadData];
}
It also checks if the count is 0 and deletes the plist, re-creates on load if required.

Answer 1

So you want to remove an object from your data array, but keep an empty cell for it in the table?
In that case I recommend replacing the removed object with an NSNull instance.
[myMutableArray replaceObjectAtIndex:index withObject:[NSNull null]];
You can then check if the object for a cell is NSNull and return an empty cell in the cellForRowAtIndexPath: data source method.
id object = // get the correct object from your data array, depending on the index
BOOL isEmpty = [object isKindOfClass:[NSNull class]];
if (isEmpty) {
// return empty table cell
else {
// return a normal cell
}

Answer 2

Instead of [self.usersSelectionArray removeObjectAtIndex:indexPath.row];, try [self.usersSelectionArray replaceObjectAtIndex:indexPath.row withObject:[NSNull null]];. That will keep the row but it will contain practically nothing